With pre-season now under way, footballers have returned from their summer sojourns, managers are again in gainful employment, and journos are pumping out their usual ill informed rubbish.

Well, part from those who used to work for the News of the World at least.

So we find ourselves raking over the news wires looking to see what changes may be afoot in the coming weeks as Villas Boas starts to imprint his management style upon the players we have, and directing the board in attaining those he wants.

With Thibaut Courtois already signed and promptly loaned to Atletico Madrid, and a deal looking all but done for Oriol Romeu, many supporters seem distinctly underwhelmed.

Now I’ve never been one to hanker for Chelsea to sign every ‘next big thing’ that comes along, especially if that involves a conceited Brazilian teen with a mohawk hairstyle, and to be frank the whole transfer rumours and roundabouts that seem to generate more column inches each season than the actual football played really annoys me.

So why is it then that every time I dip into forums to see what’s being discussed, is there an abundance of nigh on psychotic supporters screaming for Roman to open his wallet to the tune of £100million, every time the transfer window opens?

Before you keyboard warriors jump down my throat, I agree we may need a few new signings, as does any reasonably minded supporter. Yet the calls to replace half the squad are just plain silly, and it seems many a fickle fan are taken in by the oft repeated words that our squad is past it and wholesale changes are needed.

We need an out and out wide man, that much is clear.  The injury to Essien whilst a set-back is not a major disaster, and could prove to be a blessing in disguise for a certain Josh McEachran, but a creative mid-fielder should also be on the list, according to most anyway.  So we’re up to two players, maybe three at a push.

But where else, seriously do we need to strengthen? Bearing in mind that any non UK based player will inevitably have first season syndrome, and after three matches be written off by the same fickle fans that called for his signing in the first place?

Cech arguable had one of his best seasons last year, in defence we’re spoilt for choice in almost all positions and up front, well if we can’t cut through them with Torres then we’ll batter them with Didier, and Sturridge isn’t a bad backup, nor is Kalou either.

So the midfield needs some work, but we knew that already. Yet we still have an impressive list to call upon; Lampard, Ramires, Benayoun, Mikel, Malouda, Zhirkov, and with Essien still to return from injury, although quite what level he’ll be able to reach is yet unknown.

So who then? Well the bids for Modric have been reported far and wide, which is unusual for Chelsea as most transfer dealings in recent years have left even the most well connected journos off the pace.  Which is what makes me think Modric is not the player we’re after to fill the ‘creative’ role we apparently don’t have, especially at the prices being quoted.

Twitchy Redknapp recently stated that; “I think he is worth an awful lot more money than that” when asked by a pundit if £35 million would be enough to buy the Croation, adding that; “Everyone wants Luka. Just ask Alex Ferguson what he thinks of him, ask Roberto Mancini at Manchester City – they all want him. He could play for Barcelona.” Yet apparently we’re the only ones who’ve bid, so it seems not everyone wants him, Harry, and I seriously don’t think we do, either.

Harry and the Spurs board are living in cloud cuckoo land if they think he’s worth that much, when it’d probably buy you a Sneijder instead, and what would be even funnier than nicking Spurs best player would be to leave them with him on their books, especially unhappy, and tarnished in Spurs fans eyes after the comments he made about Chelsea being a bigger club.

The bottom line is that we need to be patient, Villas Boas has only had command of the squad for a few weeks, and if signings are needed they will be made, as they have in the past and they no doubt will again. The new gaffer said as much when interviewed on Chelsea’s tour of Asia, stating; “Everyone knows how frenetic the market gets in the last weeks of August, it always happens like that.”

He added; “I understand the fans want and expect new signings and radical changes, we are trying to put a halt to that because it is valuable that we are assessing things.  We are not making decisions lightly, we are pondering every situation in order to go to the market with the things that we really need and not to go into the market chaotically and make mistakes.”

Speaking of mistakes, and to close this piece on a sore point, why is it that our distant fans on these pre-season tours seemingly get far more preferential treatment than those of us based back here in Blighty?  

I don’t begrudge any supporter the chance to meet the players they support, yet it seems that those overseas get signing and photo sessions, stuff dished out to them and are generally are fawned upon to a far higher degree than you and I who fork out each week. Look at the stark differences to how our supporters were treated in the Portsmouth match, to those who turned up against Malaysia.

Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s important that there is a link between the players and fans, and that contact IS available, but if it’s being done overseas to such an extent, then not repeating it over here is just another slap in the face from a football board who increasingly don’t give a stuff about those who put the most in the coffers each season, and it needs to change.

With the current situation engulfing NewsCorp, you’d think Murdoch’s empire would be taking a little more care in their reporting. Sadly not, it would seem.

Earlier today it was widely reported, with the source being Sky Sports, that John Terry had claimed Luka Modric has been ‘disrespectful’ towards Tottenham in trying to engineer a move to Chelsea.

These quotes quickly spread like wildfire and have been repeated ad nauseum across sites far and wide, however Sky Sports has now been forced to print a retraction, and apologise for their mistake.

The statement read; “At skysports.com we have a reputation for the honesty and integrity of our reporting.” – Not sure where they dreamt this up, but they continue.

“Unfortunately we fell short of those standards with our coverage of John Terry’s interview with Sky Sports News on July 19 during which the Chelsea captain was asked to comment on Luka Modric.”

“We would like to clarify that John Terry did not refer to Luka Modric as being disrespectful to Tottenham Hotspur during the interview. “

“On realising our error we immediately removed the original article and published a corrected version which you can read by clicking here“

“We would like to apologise to John Terry and Chelsea for any inconvenience caused.”

Luckily for Murdoch and Sky, it seems that these comments were taken out of context from an interview conducted by Sky Sports News in Malaysia, and not John Terry’s voicemail.

Chelsea this afternoon depart English shores ahead of their Asian tour and manager Andre Villas-Boas has included a smattering of youth in his travelling party.

In his two pre-season victories over Wycombe Wanderers and Portsmouth, the Portuguese boss has given opportunities to a clutch of reserve team players and whilst not all of them will make the trip to Malaysia and beyond, there are enough travelling to create a keen sense of intrigue.

Chief amongst them is 16 year-old Nathaniel Chalobah, who played at centre-back for the second half at Fratton Park after a busy summer with England’s Under-17 squad.

He doesn’t turn 17 until December but his ascension to Villas-Boas’ ranks is nothing new to a player who has been playing above his age group since before he was a teenager.

Chalobah is joined by Billy Clifford as well as a trio of players who have featured in the first team in Josh McEachran, Patrick van Aanholt and Ryan Bertrand, whilst oft-loaned Serbian defender Slobodan Rajkovic is on the plane too.

Czech centre-back Tomas Kalas has been released to join up with his nation Under-19 squad ahead of their European Championships, a move which has been allowed with Alex now able to return to training after a recent injury.

Carl Magnay, Kaby and Milan Lalkovic were unused subs at Portsmouth but are not expected to make the trip to Asia, and will instead join up with the reserve squad which has jetted to Austria for a week.

Gael Kakuta and Matej Delac are at the Under-20 World Cup in Colombia and will not be involved in club pre-season.

Chelsea kick off their Asian tour against a Malaysian XI on Thursday before a meeting with the Thailand All Stars next Sunday evening. They then move on to Hong Kong for the Premier League Asia Trophy, where they first play Kitchee FC before meeting either Aston Villa or Blackburn Rovers in a tournament televised live on Sky Sports.

Ukrainian champions Shakhtar Donetsk today confirmed that Spanish Doctor Paco Biosca has joined Chelsea as their new club doctor.

The 57 year-old replaces Bryan English in heading up the medical department at Cobham and arrives a little less than a week since Michael Essien suffered a serious knee injury in pre-season.

Biosca arrives with a reputation as one of Europe’s best, with his former club touting him as a man with “a contemporary understanding of football medicine and cutting-edge technology”.

Prior to his six-year spell in Donetsk, he worked with Lleida in Spain for over 25 years, and is the former President of both the European Federation of Orthopedics and Sports Traumatology and the Spanish Association of Football Teams Physicians.

The Blues had been linked with Lille club doctor Frank Le Gall but, as with many of this summer’s rumours, it appears to have been nothing more than a smokescreen for actual activity.

More as this develops.

The Chelsea managerial merry-go-round continues to spin, but news this morning suggests it may be slowing down ready to stop.

Major sources in Portugal are reporting that FC Porto manager André Villas-Boas is headed to London after Blues owner Roman Abramovich agreed to pay his release clause, believed to be in the region of €15m.

The 33 year-old, who has previous experience at Stamford Bridge working as a scout for Jose Mourinho, is said to have been offered the same salary as his mentor, a cool €5m per season.

A source close to the story told Agência Lusa (via Jornal de Notícias) that Villas-Boas has informed Porto of his desire to join Chelsea, and that he may wish to bring star striker Radamel Falcao with him.

Record, A Bola and others are all leading with the same news today.

Watch this space…

We have a brand new collection for you over at TheChels.biz, celebrating some of the players and personalities from Chelsea’s past who have etched themselves in the club’s history.

Included are the likes of 1970 FA Cup winning captain Ron ‘Chopper Harris’, Peter ‘The Cat’ Bonetti’, Scottish wizards Cooke and Nevin, as well as Clive Walker and goal machine Kerry Dixon.

Also included are more modern legends of the 90’s and 00’s like Wisey, 42 seconds Di Matteo, the genius ‘Franco Zola, the ice and fire of Eidur and Jimmy Floyd, Lord Percy Carvalho, the unique Makelele – who had his position named after him… and of course the self acclaimed ‘special’ Jose Mourinho.

The efforts and achievements of these and the teams they played in have helped to make what the club is today, and give many supporters great memories along the way.

So to celebrate these ‘Chelsea Legends’, we’ve created this new collection and called it, imaginatively enough, ‘Legends’. So, make your way over to http://thechels.biz and check out the new collection!

Until 31st March, if you buy four short sleeve shirts and enter ‘MAY2011’ at the checkout, you get a fifth absolutely free!

We thought it may come but not even the most cynical of us would have seen it happening so soon.

Barely hours after the season ended with a 1-0 defeat away to Everton, Chelsea released a statement that read;

“Chelsea Football Club can confirm that Carlo Ancelotti parted company with the club today (Sunday, 22 May).

The owner and board would like to thank Carlo for his contribution and achievements since taking over as manager in July 2009, which included winning the Double for the first time in the club’s history.

However, this season’s performances have fallen short of expectations and the club feels the time is right to make this change ahead of next season’s preparations.

Carlo will always be welcome at Stamford Bridge, where he will be given the reception and respect his position in our history deserves.

Chelsea’s long-term football objectives and ambitions remain unchanged and we will now be concentrating all our efforts on identifying a new manager.

There will be no further comment until that appointment is made”

Ancelotti is the latest in a long line of managers not to see out their contracts at Chelsea, starting with Ranieri, then Mourinho, Grant, Scolari and now Carlo.  Only Hiddink left of his own accord.

After winning the double for Chelsea last season, a feat many of us years ago would have given a limb for –  it seems a barren follow-up season just wasn’t up to the standards Roman has come to expect.

Carlo, you were a gentleman until the end. Thank you for all you’ve done.

Chelsea’s start to the season promised so much but fell flat on its back as they ended the campaign without a trophy.

Manager Carlo Ancelotti failed to build on last term where he won the double in his first season in charge of the Blues.

Chelsea’s mid-season demise has really taken its toll as reports suggest Ancelotti is the football betting favourite to be the next manager for the chop after the final game of the season this weekend.

The Italian’s dismissal wouldn’t come as a surprise after the long list of previous managers that have failed at the helm following poor seasons. Owner Roman Abramovich wants success instantly, yet sacking the former AC Milan manager would be harsh considering the achievements he had in his first season in England.

On the other hand, why would the Russian millionaire want to keep a manager who has failed to get the best out of player that cost him £50 million? Fernando Torres’ performance haven’t reflected his price tag and Ambramovich may want a fresh manager to get the best out of the Spaniard to stick by his decision to splash the cash on the striker.

Chelsea have also failed to bring players through the youth system in recent years and are falling behind in terms of youth with the other title challengers thus far. There is an argument Arsenal have too much youth while Chelsea have too much experience. Manchester United, the champions, have the correct balance of emerging youngsters and veteran performers and it has showed as they wrapped up their 19th title and face Barcelona in the Champions League final next week, a match which won’t be as one sided as “football bets” suggest.

The Blues do have Josh McEachran and Daniel Sturridge coming through the ranks with both featuring a little bit this season. Sturridge has showed his potential on loan at Bolton and should be at the forefront of the Chelsea attack next campaign, though the club still needs players to freshen up the squad. David Luiz has had an impact since he joined from Benfica but Torres has done the opposite.

Torres, a January transfer signing from Liverpool, has hampered Chelsea’s title bid with Ancelotti persistently choosing the Spanish striker in order to justify his transfer fee. Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka have since failed to shine and become unsettled since Torres’ arrival and the goals have dried up.

Chelsea need to freshen their team in order to get back on the right track to challenge for major honours. Some players are starting to go past their peak years and Abramovich may need a clearout this
summer, starting with the manager.

Stuart Pearce’s 40-man Preliminary Squad for this summer’s European Under-21 Championships has been named this evening, and includes five Chelsea youngsters, making The Blues the most represented club in the party.

Michael Mancienne, Daniel Sturridge, Ryan Bertrand, Jack Cork and Josh McEachran are all named and all stand a strong chance of being in the final 23 heading to Denmark in June.

The quintet are regular faces amongst Pearce’s recent selections and includes two captains. Mancienne, who has 27 caps, has served as the team’s captain this season with only Fabrice Muamba having represented the team more than the versatile defender.

In his recent five-month absence, Pearce has handed the armband to a number of different faces but one amongst those was Bertrand, who has made the left-back spot his own in 2010-11 and recently made his first team debut at Stamford Bridge.

Sturridge has been one of the most in-form strikers in the top flight since joining Bolton Wanderers on loan at the end of January and has three goals at this level, most recently scoring against the hosts in a friendly in March.

Midfielders Cork and McEachran may have been born almost four years apart but both stand a strong chance of making the cut. Cork has rarely featured from the start but is a versatile and intelligent player who brings a wealth of football league experience to the table.

McEachran, meanwhile, earned his maiden selection this season after breaking into Carlo Ancelotti’s first team squad and has been fast-tracked through the English setup after playing a major part in their European Under-17 Championship success last summer.

It is the 18 year-old McEachran who is the most likely of the group to fall to the wayside, particularly with the Under-19 team facing upcoming Elite Round Qualifiers of their own, but he is spoken of in glowing terms by influential people in the Football Association and could serve as something of an understudy to Jack Wilshere, who looks set to be included despite club protestations.

The announcement will come as a source of great pride for those working at Chelsea’s academy, as they feature more players than any other club.

This has also been the case at Under-16 level throughout the course of the season and it is highly likely that from junior level through to senior, the current domestic Champions have had the most players donning English white.

England were drawn against Ukraine, Spain, and the Czech Republic and open their campaign in Herning on June 12th. You will, of course, be able to keep right up to date with their progress here at TheChels.net, and on Twitter by following our group of Twitter accounts.

Disney XD are offering youngsters the chance to win a mentorship with young Chelsea striker Daniel Sturridge!

These mentorships are like coaching sessions, giving you the opportunity to learn from professional sportsmen.

The lucky winner will get to head down to Chelsea’s Cobham training ground and be put through their paces by the man himself.

For more details and to get involved, kids should visit www.disneyxd.co.uk/aimhigh